Congressional District Reshaping Favors Republicans

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A bill to draw new congressional districts for Pennsylvania is on a fast-track in Harrisburg.

The Republican-drawn map was unveiled yesterday, and the State Senate is expected to approve it Wednesday.

With Republicans drawing the new congressional districts for Pennsylvania, everybody knew that it would be bad news for Democrats.

With slow population growth, this state lost a congressman and that loser will be a Democrat.

The proposed congressional map seems to guarantee reelection to 12 incumbent Republicans and reduces the state’s Democratic representatives to just five, even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state by more than 1.5 million voters.

It’s political gerrymandering and both parties do it to each other when they can to strengthen their numbers in Washington, D.C.

In southwestern Pennsylvania, the districts were reshaped to help Republican incumbents Glenn Thompson, Mike Kelly, Tim Murphy, and Bill Shuster.

Democrat Mike Doyle was also helped as Republican legislators dumped more Democrats into his Pittsburgh-Mon Valley district.

However, its two incumbent Democrats, Jason Altmire and Mark Critz, will have to face off in a Democratic primary this April in a brand new district.

That district will stretch from Beaver County through the North Hills into Westmoreland County, east into Cambria and Somerset Counties.